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Hotel Sordide
Bio Hotel Sordide is a run-down derelict hotel located somewhere in England (possibly near Lower Tidmarsh). The staff is ill-tempered, rude and unprofessional and given to thievery. It has a French restaurant, Chez Ben, which seems opulent on the surface, but its staff isn't courteous or professional. The sign of dust at the front desk suggests it is not on the regular thoroughfare. The hotel is visited by a couple (Jackie Wright and Christine Rodgers) on their honeymoon. On arrival, they find the desk clerk (Benny Hill) not paying attention and instead flirting with one of the maids (Anne Irving). Dust comes from the admissions book; the pen has fallen deep inside the clerk's jacket. The elevator runs wildly, pulling down the attire of an elderly couple (Wally Goodman and unknown). When the honeymooning couple try to use it, they practically have to tear the lazy bell boy (Benny Hill) from his chair to go upstairs. In the elevator's accelerated state, it yanks their clothes up over their heads. Upstairs, the bell boy shows them to their room, and its lack of a view, casually strolling in without warning to retrieve his newspaper. He later returns with another maid (Rita Webb) to steal their shoes left out in the hall to be shined. At dinner, the couple meets the restaurant's maitre'd (Benny Hill), who seems professional at first, later talking them out of an budget dish for a more expensive one. Unable to sway them, he resorts to giving them the bare minimum, removing all the fine dining acessories from the table. The waiter (Benny Hill) smokes as he serves them salad (lettuce, no extras) and wine. The fish dinner is so fresh it attracts cats; the husband swapping dishes with his wife over the smell. It doesn't matter anyway because he closes the kitchen promptly on time and takes everything in before they can eat. The next morning isn't much better. Although the wife gets breakfast in bed, the bell boy and older maid race them through it to clean the room. The bell boy even gets caught in the bathroom with the half-naked wife, and when the husband calls to complain, the hotel clerk's girlfriend sets the phone off the hook to keep fooling around with him. Even the maid gets knocked into the bathtub when the husband tries taking a bath. That afternoon, the honeymooners barely get out with their clothes and suitcases, wearing worn-out shoes in their escape. In their rush, they neglect to tip the elderly doorman (Benny Hill) who gets snubbed by their departure. Trivia * Benny plays five characters in the sketch. * Wally George's wife in the sketch is unidentified. It might be Lillian Padmore who appeared with him in the December 25, 1969 episode, but this is unconfirmed. * The restaurant scene in this sketch might have inspired the Costa Patatas sketch from December 26, 1978. Episode(s) * Tommy Tupper in Tupper Time Gallery Sordid00.JPG Sordid01.JPG Sordid02.JPG Sordid03.JPG Sordid04.JPG Sordid05.JPG Sordid06.JPG Sordid07.JPG Sordid08.JPG Sordid09.JPG Sordid10.JPG Sordid11.JPG Sordid12.JPG Sordid14.JPG Sordid15.JPG Sordid16.JPG Sordid17.JPG Sordid18.JPG Sordid19.JPG Sordid20.JPG Sordid21.JPG Sordid22.JPG Sordid23.JPG Sordid24.JPG Category: Locations Category: 1970 Sketches